Dru-Zod
General Zod, full name Dru-Zod, was the commander of the Kryptonian Defense Force and a close friend of Jor-El. He was renown for his military role in the Krypton-Shi'ar War. However, he committed war crimes in wiping out Shi'ar warships that were about to surrender and was banished into the Phantom Zone. Zod was freed decades later by Project Cadmus and helped his godson Kal-El, Superman, in defending Earth from the Skrulls, Kree, and Shi'ar. Subsequently, Zod revealed his true villainous nature and attempted to conquered Earth, but is ultimately drove back into the Phantom Zone by Superman and the heroes of Earth. History Early life Zod began his successful life in Krypton City University and graduated with full honours at the age of 22, before enlisting in the Krypton Defence Force. He worked his way up through the ranks, earning practically every commendation and award Krypton had to offer, until reaching the rank of High General and going on to serve his planet to the Kryptonian middle-age of 152 - still managing to drive off the occasional Kree or Skrull raiding party that appeared up to harass the Kryptonian research outposts on several other worlds. His military exploits was utmost recognized throughout the known cosmos. Fascinated and hated by his admirers and enemies alike; he was recognized by the Galactic Confederacy for being their military consultant in routing the Chitari from an attempted incursion into Confederate space; and notably in the Battle of Krenthia and the Battle of Rol'Nor, he had earned the nicknames the "Butcher of Krenthia" and the "Bane of Rol'Nor" from the Skrulls and Kree, respectively. According to Brainiac 5, Zod's enemies knew of only one way to survive against him was to run.The Last Son, Book Three: Changes, "Tangled Webs" Due to his foremost reputation, Zod had earned the meaningful nickname of "Krypton's Warhammer". On many of Zod's campaigns, the General had been accompanied by one of his top lieutenants and scientists, his best friend, Jor-El; it was suggested that Jor-El was partly responsible for most of Zod's successes – apparently, the two had made an unbeatable team: Zod, the master tactician, determining what they needed to accomplish, and Jor-El, the brilliant strategist, figuring out how to achieve. Even after Jor-El had retired from the Force, to serve on Krypton's ancient Council of Twelve, the two had remained friends. Zod had love-affair with a Kryptonian Fleet-Colonel, Ursa. War against the Shi'ar When the Shi'ar threatened Krypton, Zod was frustrated by the stagnancy of the Council of Twelve's handling of the war as the current administration opposed his urging to press the advantage against the Shi'ar, instead of holding position every time the Shi'ar Fleet beat back. For the next three years as Krypton is shielded under its Planet-Shield, Zod plotted a coup d'Etat as he had quietly moved his people into key positions of power around Krypton, all in preparation for the signal to simultaneously seize control of every part of Krypton in an effort to remove the Council and renewing the true spirit of Krypton. However, the plot didn't succeed as Zod's lover Ursa was killed in combat. Enraged of his love's death, Zod called off his coup and swearing to destroy every last Shi'ar ship, and developed a very contemptuous attitude on other alien races, whom he viewed them as primitives. Zod led a strike team with Jor-El and Yen-Lir in breaking through the Shi'ar lines in traveling to Battlestation Sentrius. With the control over Sentrius and using the World-Gate network, Zod fired Sentrius' weapons on nearly every Shi'ar vessel and leading to the Shi'ar ceasing hostilities. Zod and along with Jor-El were present in overseeing the peace terms with former Shi'ar Emperor Kral'Nor and his family. During the rather tense diplomacy, Kral'Nor's son D'Ken lashed out at Zod for demeaning his father in which Zod backhanded D'Ken and demanding an direct apology from the young Shi'ar prince. The incident instilled D'Ken to loathe Zod, and generally all Kryptonians, and become the leader of the remnants of the Shi'ar Empire.The Last Son, Book Three: Changes, "Flashpoint" Banishment In the aftermath of the Krypton-Shi'ar War, Zod committed a war crime by willingly in using Sentrius to deploy an Eradicator in wiping out a surrendering fleet of Shi'ar ships as a show of force to the Shi'ar from ever threatening his planet. The Shi'ar survivors reported the incident to the Council of Twelve and Zod was brought on trial overseen by the Council, which Jor-El was a part of. Zod admitted his crimes and without showing any remorse for it. He was sentenced guilty and was banished into the Phantom Zone. Ironically, Zod's sentence had saved him from Krypton's imminent destruction forewarn by Jor-El.The Last Son, Book One: Gatherings, "Echoes of Krypton" Zod was left adrift in the Phantom Zone for over thirty years and took shelter in Fort Rozz, which protected Zod's molecular integrity. For the first years, Zod blame Jor-El for sentencing him into the zone and swear vengeance on him and his ilks. But over time, Zod subsided his rage against his former friend as sees Jor-El had no choice in the matter, and blamed the Council as well for his lover's death. After thirty years, Zod's imprisonment would soon end. Zod's godson, Kal-El, returned to the remains of Krypton and inadvertently brought along Zod's Phantom Zone Cell through Warp space and landed on Earth, where it was founded by Dr. Mary Storm and brought to Project Cadmus for study. The Cell was experimented with a neutron beam that had enabled Zod to transmit a radio signal to be detected by Superman, who then freed Zod. At first couldn't recognize his godson until realizing him and shocked to learn of Krypton's destruction. When questioned as to how he was imprisoned, Zod concocted a story that another military officer was tried for war crimes and that during the trial he was accidentally sent into the Phantom Zone at the time of Krypton's destruction. Zod immediately see an advantage to his situation that with Krypton gone and the only survivors were him and his godchildren, Superman and Supergirl, he silently plot to turn Earth into a "New Krypton" to rule over a race of "primitives".The Last Son, Book Three: Changes, "Phantoms" Only a few people, such as Wonder Woman and Namor, to suspect Zod's sinister motive and unstable mentality. Footnotes Category:Characters Category:Kryptonians